Distance
by char-tomio
Summary: Chrome reflects on her feelings about keeping her distance with Yamamoto. TYL Yamamoto x TYL Chrome.
1. Chapter 1

**Distance**

TYL Yamamoto x TYL Chrome Fanfic

**-This story was based on my interpretation of the song 'Distance' by Christina Perri and Jason Mraz. I don't own any of the characters in Katekyo Hitman Reborn nor the song. Please enjoy**.

Yamamoto Takeshi was badly injured from a battle with an enemy famiglia while protecting his partner. Now, his partner, Chrome Dokuro is busying herself to take care of an unconscious Yamamoto inside a dark hospital room.

**Chrome's POV**

I did nothing. I regret not doing anything to help him.

I even became a burden to him. Those men aimed to kill me. But he just..

Tears drip down from my face as I replay those horrible scenes about those incidents.

...

...

The sun was filling up the room. It's warmth was a little bit comforting.

But yet, I still feel bitterly cold inside.

"..."

My blood rises as I hear Yamamoto-san breathe heavily, like he was dreaming.

Maybe he was having a bad flashback about that night, too.

I hesitantly hold his trembling hand. Now, my blood was really rising up to my face.

I wrench away all my sick feelings as I focus on his bandaged hand.

It felt heavy and was cold and trembling, presumably from the night terror he was having.

Everything in me just wanted to hug him tight.

I wanted to cry while embracing, telling him that I was here for him. That I'm sorry.

...

And most importantly, how I really feel for him.

But I can't. Never could I be able to do something like that.

I've always wanted to tell him that I liked him. And if he felt that way too. Even just a little.

But, no. I can't.

I wish that everything was changed. I wish that I was allowed to.

.

.

Yamamoto's chest rises and falls slowly everytime he breathes.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: What Really Happened

"Oi, Dokuro!" called Yamamoto as he barges in her office without knocking.

Can't this guy even knock?, Chrome thinks to herself.

"I'm on a mission to Paris. Guess who's coming with me." he smiled.

"I don't know.."

And I don't really care.

His most common partners were either Gokudera-san or Sasagawa-san but whatever. I have never been stationed with him on a mission.

"Pack your bags," he commanded, "We leave for Paris first thing in the morning."

Oh, so that's why. I was going to be his partner.

Our mission was to track down some rogue members from our famiglia. Supposed to be easy for someone his caliber.

By the time we came to the France base, those rogues were already waiting to ambush us.

Luckily, he decided to hear out my plan to come in as illusions.

I tiringly made a perfect replica of us to enter first, only to fool those spies to attack the illusion, giving us a head start.

We finished them in 3 minutes and I was amazed on how a good fighter Yamamoto-san was. No wonder he was one of the best fighters in the famiglia.

After that, we just went on, lolling around our hotel rooms.

"Well," he said, "We can't do anything since we were scheduled to leave after a week."

I sighed, sipping my coffee. That means I would have to be stuck with this guy for a couple of days. Sadly, I was pretty uncomfortable with him, since he was a total stranger.

He got up to leave.

"W-where are you going..?" I asked.

"I'm just gonna take a quick walk down the city, just to see if anything's in for me." he casually replied.

I was going to return to my room when he asked me if I wanted to come with him.

"Uh, no thank you. I-I have more things to do." I shyly declined.

"If those things include daydreaming and looking out the window, I'd say that it's better to come with me." he joked.

Ok, how did he find out? He must be either a psychic or a peeping tom.

"Uh, no.. I've got.."

"It's far safer with me too."

Okay, he's got a point. So I UNWILLINGLY followed him as we toured the famous city of love, Paris.

We spent the whole day window shopping, taking photographs and looking at stuff that I used to do by myself. But he was right. Things looked better outside, than viewed from the window.

"You wanna eat?" he asked.

"Will that mean returning to the hotel?" I asked.

"Answer my question first." he insisted.

I was surprised that he's got some attitude, but I just answered anyway.

"Yes." I finally answered, hopefully ending this tour.

"Alright." he smiled.

Unfortunately for me, he told me to wait outside while he was ordering take out 'cause he said that he did'nt wanna pay service charge if we ate inside.

So there we was, eating sandwiches and croquettes outside while sightseeing. People were even looking at us probably because they think that eating while walking is a really bad habit. Well, my little partner here doesn't seem to mind, being thick-headed and all.

The tour was pretty miserable until it was time to go home.

"Did you enjoy the tour?" he asked while escorting me to my room.

"Um..yes." I replied, trying to sound polite.

"I don't think your face agrees with what you were saying. Sorry if I dragged you maybe against your will."

I was a bit moved by what he said but I really wanted to kill him after he said,

"Don't worry, tomorrow's tour will be better."

I just smiled a little to hide all my complaints on this guy. Next time, I'll plead the boss not to have this guy as my partner. Ever.

As I shut the door quietly behind him, I noticed that he hasn't left.

"I thought you were going to your room.." I mumbled as I opened the door again.

He just stood there and patted my head like I was his little sister or girlfriend of some sort.

"Good night." he said as he left.

"..."

Okay, so he didn't leave just so he can say 'good night'. He's really one of a kind.

.

.

.

The next day, Yamamoto-san was telling me to come out for our second trip.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Twist of feelings.

"Look, sorry for dragging you again with me." he said as we walked to the vast streets of Paris.

I just smiled faintly, telling me that I was ok even if I was really bothered.

We rested on a nearby fountain, eating our sandwiches again.

.

.

"Say, how do you feel about this trip?" he asked out of the blue.

I just nodded my head silently.

He jumped up in front of me, smiling like crazy.

"Don't you ever talk?" he asked again.

It was obvious that I didn't like talking. I really didn't, so I found that question annoying.

"I'm okay." I replied hesitantly.

"Why?" he asked again.

I nodded again. He was really getting on my nerves.

"Come on, talk to me." laughed Yamamoto.

He pulled me up and made me stand. I really didn't like what he did.

"I kinda remember that I've read that the mouth is one of the strongest muscles in the body." he narrates, "You should exercise yours more often."

My eyes meet with his and I turn away, probably because I felt awkward. I didn't really know what to say. I wasn't good at creating conversations. I thought of some things to say.

After a minute of searching my mind, I told him:

.

.

"Y-you read books too..?"

That's when it all happened.

He laughed hard at me. It's kinda annoying. Great.

He ruffled my hair and pinched my cheeks.

"Hey, don't be like that, I read books too. I'm smarter that you think!"

"Okay."

Then he laughed again and told me to talk more. I must say that it hurts getting pinched.

"So, where do we go next? You dedide." he asked.

"Um..wherever you wanna go." I said, insisting he decide.

"Nah, I've enjoyed yesterday. It's your turn. I'm really open to your suggestions." he smiled.

Watching his smile was like watching the sun. Feels very warm.

I stammered a little, thought of something good.

"Um..are there libraries in Paris too?" I asked, nervously.

He smiled again.

"Great, now that's what I want." he replied, "This day, I'm putting you in charge of our destinations."

He placed his hand over my shoulder, indicating that he trusted me. For one time, I felt good that I was placed in charge of something.

"What's that?" he inquired with a smile.

"Huh?"

"You're smiling!"

"What..?" I cried.

"No, no, no..! Look, you were smiling earlier, don't put it away!" he continued, "You look better when you smile!"

My eyebrows raised up and looked at him in a very skeptical manner.

"What..?"

"Hey, I wasn't saying that you look bad." he explained. "You look really good. You're really really beautiful! But you look better when you smile."

My face flushed a bit when he said that.

"S-so your point is you want me to smile..?" I asked shyly.

"Yup. You'll attract lots of good luck when you smile." he replied, "Not to mention a lot of guys too."

"I..I wouldn't really want that." I muttered.

"Yeah, so would I." he said quietly.

"Huh..?!" I almost yelled in disbelief. Or maybe I heard wrong.

Yamamoto-san was just smiling, but his smile was sort of different. Not like that warm friendly smile he used to give everyone but rather a sort of freakish smile I can't even understand.

I slowed up my pace behind him just so I wouldn't see that weird face. He didn't look back at me either.

.

.

So all day I felt like a boss telling Yamamoto-san where I wanted to go. Politely. First, we went to the library browsing some books for almost 3 hours. The funny stuff was that Yamamoto-san kept on talking to me no matter how much the librarian scolded him. He just went on and on 'till the librarian almost yelled at him in French.

Next, we went to a well known patisserie downtown. He kept blurting on some trivia about cakes and pastries so much even if he just ordered coffee.

"Sorry, I've got no money with me." he smiled.

Then we just got blocked by some random mime while peregrinating to our next destination. Yamamoto-san got a little bored so he mimicked the mime's movements like an idiot. Sadly, he couldn't beat the mime at his own game. Still, he laughed and chased me 'cause I managed to get a video of him while doing some weird movements in hopes of deleting that embarrasing video from the camera.

Last, we took some pictures. I discovered that Yamamoto-san was a talented photographer. In the end, we had a little picture together while sitting on top of the bridge.

We returned tired from our little tour.

"So, did you enjoy this day's tour?" he asked while escorting me back to my room.

I nodded my head in agreement, smiling a little.

He smiled back at me too and ruffled my hair again.

"That's good."

As I was going to shut the door, I saw that he was not budging again.

"Uh, goodnight..?" I told him, wondering if he was just waiting for a greeting again.

He smiled silently.

"Tomorrow, we won't be going on any tours, just to give you a rest. You're free to do anything you want." informed Yamamoto.

I felt slightly disappointed sinceI started to enjoy those activities. But maybe, he was getting tired too.

I nodded again.

"Good night."

"Good night, too."

He left silently. I didn't close the door so I could watch him leave.

I felt a little lonely.

.

.

.

I woke up early. I lay in bed and he was the one first to cross my mind.

Things were getting confusing. Why did I even feel like that?

I wanted him to just knock at my door, telling me to wash up so that we could leave.

Feeling a little disturbed by those feelings, I slept again.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Uncovering the Pieces

I woke up and it was already afternoon. I continued my daily routine and started to eat breakfast at the hotel lobby.

I was halfway through my meal when I remembered him again.

Yamamoto-san.

Had he eaten yet?

Maybe so, beacuse Yamamoto-san was an early riser and was the kind of person who kept telling people to take care of their health.

I kept eating as I brushed away those embarrasing thoughts away.

Unconsciously, after the meal, I found myself in his front door. Knocking.

No one answered.

Again, I knocked.

No response.

"Y-yamamoto-san..?" I called, "It's me, Chrome. Are you in there?"

No one answered.

The manager told me that he left his keys with him and told him that he should only give Yamamoto-san's keys to me. I accepted it and tried to unlock the door.

I felt hesitant. Was I really doing the right thing?

I unlocked the door and saw his room.

All neat, except for a messy desk filled with all sorts of letters.

One letter caught my eye.

I took it in my hand and read it.

It said,

Dear Yamamoto,

I suggest you still look after those rogues. They're not finished yet. I've heard that the whole famiglia had infiltrated our Paris base. Mukuro Rokudo heads them. And keep your eye on Chrome. The real reason why Mukuro's causing all this trouble because he (wants) needs Chrome back as his vessel.

Sincerely yours,

Vongola Decimo.

"..."

Tears well up on her eyes.

"Mukuro-sama.." I mumble softly while clutching the letter. "He'd come back?"

I read the letter once more only to find that Yamamoto-san entered the room. I bury the letter within his stack of papers and hold on to an innocent-looking envelope, pretending that I was about to read it's contents.

His eyes grew wide as he rushes up to me.

"Hey..you...you've read that..?!" he stammers while eyeing the envelope with anxiety. Must be something important.

I drop the envelope.

"I..well actually.."

He comes up to me in a firm voice.

"You know better than to mess with people's personal stuff, y'know." he scolded me.

I could feel something different in his voice. It was like worry, fear and anger combined.

He pauses for a while. Takes a deep breath.

"Alright, what did you see?" he interrogates me sternly.

"Um..I..well.." I stammer as I didn't really know.

"Tell me." he commands.

"But I didn't really open it.."

"Tell me."

He was really angry from the way he looked at me. I guess he wouldn't believe me so I tried to guess the contents.

"Something that wasn't meant for me to see."

Suddenly he grabbed my wrist tightly and stared at me. He was trembling from nervousness. My face flushed as he pulled me towards him.

Silence.

He loosened his grip and looked away.

"I know you want to leave. Go ahead."

I left hurriedly in case he tries anything funny. I never looked back.

.

.

.

He opens the colored envelope. The one he believed that Chrome read.

He sighs.

It was a love letter meant for Chrome.

He wanted to die in embarrasment. Definately wrong timing.

.

.

He lay in bed, trying to sleep.

.

.

.

Chrome was also in her room, trying to sleep. She felt sorry for having invaded his privacy.

Now, she was faced with something unusual. Something she's never experienced before.

The letter remained in her mind but Yamamoto's actions were something that she couldn't forget.

Great.

She thinks of a way she could face him. Better yet, say sorry.

.

.

.

The next day, she felt undeniably drained. She didn't want to get up. Everything was just so complicated now.

She just slept all her feelings again, trying to think of a solution on how to solve this problem.

A knock on the door came.

She opened it.

"Y-yamamoto-san..?" I said, rubbing my eyes.

He just stood silently there.

"Is there something wrong..?" I asked again.

He still had no response but he quietly entered the room. I didn't mind if it was rude. What I did was worse.

Silence.

Things ran into my mind. Why was he even here if he had nothing to say.

.

.

.

"Hey, I'm sorry about the letter." he finally spoke.

I knew he was referring to the envelope that I didn't even read.

"It's alright. It was really my fault for barging in and reading letters that weren't meant for me." I half-lied. Yes. I was referring to the other letter.

"Yeah, it was your fault but I'm still sorry. Forget whatever you saw, it's not real." he said, red-faced.

He sounded weird. I was intrigued on whatever that envelope contained.

"Okay." I agreed.

"We'll still be friends, right?" he asked.

"Yes, we'll always be friends." I replied rather awkwardly.

I looked at him and saw that with his relief, he was looking a little disappointed.

"Maybe." he whispered.

Silence arose again. I was getting sick of the silence, not after Yamamoto-san told me that I should talk a little.

"Well, since I've said everything that I wanted to say, I'm leaving." he bade goodbye.

He was halfway out the door when I called him.

"Yamamoto-san, don't we have a tour..?"

"Depends on you." he said as he shut the door.

I fidgeted uncomfortably. I never wanted to see him like that.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Late Night Tour

It was 7 in the evening. Chrome went to her window to take a glimpse of the beautiful night view of Paris.

She laid her hand flat on the window, longing to see the outside world again.

"Depends on you." the words echoed through her head.

"If it depends on me, I'd really wanna go now." Chrome thinks to herself.

All those thoughts run into her mind as she paces back and forth uneasily.

Faint knocks are heard in his door. It took a while to get Yamamoto-san's attention.

"Dokuro, what's the matter?" he asked me as he opened the door.

"Yamamoto-san, you told me that I'm still in charge." I told him.

"What..?"

"The tour depends on me."

"Yeah, I did say that a while ago but why?"

"Can we have a tour tonight?"

"Huh?" he gaped at me, "At this hour of the night? Are you sure?"

"Are you busy?"

"No, but..It's already past 7."

"Why not?"

"Uh, can't we just go tomorrow?"

"Can't we go now?"

He looked at ne skeptically and thought about it for a while.

"Give me one good reason for having a tour now within 5 seconds." he said.

"I..because I miss you." I blurted out. It was after ten seconds of thinking that made me realize that I said the wrong word.

"Uh, I'm sorry. I..I-I meant to say that I..I missed IT." I explained shyly.

My face grew bright scarlet out of embarrasment. How could I even say that to a senior..?

He laughed a little.

"You missed it..or me?" he teased.

"..IT!" I almost screamed.

He smiled at me in the most annoying manner.

"F-forget about it..Let's just have it tomorrow." I mumbled as I tried to leave.

"Nah, wait." he called out while gripping my arm. "Paris does look good at night. Just lemme get my camera."

Okay. I was still annoyed but at least my wish was granted.

We left the hotel at 8. And then, we saw a side of Paris that wasn't visible at night.

There were bright lights everywhere and the city was definately gorgeous.

"You've made the right decision to tour the city at this time of the night." he praised me.

I just smiled. I was really getting attached to the 'tour' thing.

We ordered a cup of coffee and some baked potatoes for take out since we found out that Paris was unbelievably cold at night.

Yamamoto-san and I were walking until we saw a band of street performers. A guitarist, a pianist and a drummer, that is.

The vocalist and the guitar player sang a beautiful duet. We kept on listening to them, captivated by their performance. Their performance was beautiful but the song was particularly beautiful too.

_And I will make sure_

_To keep my distance_

_Say 'I love you' when you're not listening_

_And how long can we keep this up..?_

To my surpise, he was offering me to take a seat beside him as he had already started eating his baked potatoes.

I sat beside him and also started eating, still watching the performers. It felt like we were watching a live concert.

Out of the blue, fireworks shot up and burned their colors against the black night sky. Truly a sight to behold.

"It's great." he told me, still munching on his food. "I guess there's some kinda festival."

I smiled in amazement.

"Your smile can light up the world better that any firework would."

I turned to Yamamoto-san again and stared at him intently at his sentence.

"Okay, what brand of toothpaste do you use?" he threw the punchline.

He laughed as I kinda cringed at his little joke.

"What? Didn't you like my joke?" he laughed.

I lightly punched him on his arm.

After the fireworks, we strolled to different places and marvelled on how Paris changes at night. Yamamoto-san kept taking all sorts of pictures.

"When our little trip..er..mission's done, I'll give you some pictures as souveneirs." he promised.

The last highlight of our trip was visiting one of the most famous places of the world.

The Eiffel Tower.

My heart beat fast as I enter this majestic building. I never thought that I could visit this place one day.

We went straight to the balcony, overlooking all of France, feeling the chill of the cold wind.

I shivered as the cold crept into my body. Yamamoto-san, seeing all of this, gave me his coat.

I held onto that coat, still warm with his body heat.

"Ne, Chrome, tell me." he suddenly spoke up. "Is there some place you'd wanna go before we leave?"

I thought of all the places in Paris that I've always wanted to visit.

"I don't know..I'd like some souveneirs before we leave." I answered.

"Okay."

"If you'd rate from one to ten, with one being the lowest and ten being the highest, tell me how close you think we are as friends." he said nonchalantly, not minding that he had changed the topic immediately.

I thought of it again. His questions really require critical thinking.

"I think 5."

"Okay."

Like our previous conversations, silence made its way between us. We both resumed looking at the beautiful sights of Paris dreamily.

I yawned.

He yawned too.

"Oh yeah. Did you know that yawns are contagious?" he said.

I answered and with a few rounds of question and answer, we were already talking about the most random topics in the world. Never did I enjoy a conversation so much than that.

Time flied until I got so tired that I couldn't stand up 'cause of sleepiness.

Yamamoto-san had to carry me back until he found some transportation. A boat, that is.

We paid the boatman and started to sail away.

"Nnn..Yamamoto-san..." I mumbled.

"Yes?"

"Are we there yet?"

"Not yet, but we'll be there soon."

"Okay." I drowzily said as my head swayed uncontrollably, when Yamamoto-san caught it, just in case I fell off the boat because of my head's weight.

He made me head rest against his shoulder and that made me sleep fast.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: With Yamamoto

"Oi, Dokuro..wake up."

Those were the words I heard subconsciously.

Chrome was fast asleep with her head resting comfortably over Yamamoto's shoulder.

"Dokuro.." he whispered.

No response from her. It was obvious that she was fast asleep.

"Wake up." he said, shaking Chrome's shoulder.

Chrome stayed asleep.

Yamamoto sighed. He was going nowhere.

"So, will you two be getting off?" the boatman asked.

"Sorry, wait." he said.

He took one last look at his sleeping companion and made up his mind to carry her.

He held her and tried to carry her. The boat was swinging back and forth unsteadily.

He almost fell off the boat but reverted his balance and ended up falling face flat on the hard, concrete floor.

"At least she's alright." he mumbled.

He kept trudging with an extra weight on his back until he reached the hotel. He found that she was fast asleep so he tried not to wake her up. He let her sleep in his room for now.

"I swear this will never happen ever again." he swore.

I woke up and saw that I was not in my hotel room. This was Yamamoto-san's room.

I sat up and scanned it. It was like the time that I sneaked in.

Yamamoto-san was sleeping soundly in his desk.

He must be really tired from the late night trip.

I stood closer to him and saw that he was writing a letter.

I laughed as I slowly read the contents. I could visibly read some words.

_How long will it be before you realize how much I'd like to be with you._

_The world might not care if I disappear, but I hope that you'll miss me if I ever die._

"How old-fashioned." I whispered.

Yamamoto-san stirred up a bit. Maybe he heard me.

I ran back to bed, pretending that I was asleep.

He stood up and gazed at me. I suddenly felt cold sweat emerging. I thought that he was going to do something inappropriate. I tried to stop shaking until I felt something warm.

Yamamoto-san covered me with a blanket and left. I tried to peek and found him continuing to write the letter.

I sat up.

He looked back at me and smiled.

"Sorry, did I wake you up?" he asked.

I shook my head.

"Good." he said, resuming the letter.

I crept closer.

"That letter's for...?"

" You'll see.",he snickered, "Well, you might wanna grab breakfast first."

"No need." I replied.

"Why?" he asked. "I don't really feel comfortable with you trying to read my private letters."

I hesitated a little and thought of somethhing to say.

"Do you..have a girlfriend..?" I asked.

"Not yet, but I sorta have a target." he smiled, "Can you help me with her?"

"Why me?" I asked. For some unknown reason, I didn't want to.

"Uh..I don't know." he stammered. "Because you two are..really close."

"Close? Is she from the famiglia?"

"Yeah, she is."

I couldn't believe it. Yamamoto-san has someone in his eyes that was from the famiglia..? Why didn't I notice..?

"Well..okay." I replied hesitantly. "But promise me that it won't interfere with work."

"Yeah, promise."

"I'm gonna eat breakfast." I said, obviously losing interest with our conversation.

"Okay, eat well." he called out.

"Aren't you eating breakfast?" I asked.

"Nah. Breakfast can wait." he replied.

"Yamamoto-san.." I whispered as I see him resuming his message.

"Yamamoto-san, breakfast can't wait..!" I scolded. "What if you contract some kind of ulcer?"

He wasn't listening.

I ran up to him, slightly angered by his rudeness, to pull him out from his insanity.

As he saw me approaching, he hid the letter.

"All right, I'll eat breakfast now!" he almost yelled as he rose up from his seat.

He pushed me out pf the room and locked it hurriedly. I saw that his face was a bit red from embarrasment.

What's wrong with him today?

"Chrome, I gotta tell you something." he said while turning off his phone.

I nodded.

"Tsuna wants us to come at the Paris base. There's a party being held tonight as a cover so that we could do some investigation."

"Okay."

"It's a formal party so dress formally."

"Um, can't I just wear uniform..?

"No."

My face flashed some kind of irritated expression. I didn't have a dress with me.

"I don't have any formal dresses with me."

His smile faded a little.

"It's okay, I've got this." he assured.

.

.

.

After breakfast, Yamamoto-san told me to stay in my hotel room. I obliged.

An hour passed when he returned handing me a black, backless dress.

"Wow. Where'd you get this?" I asked, marvelling at the dress.

"It doesn't matter as long as you don't get any stains on it so be careful."

Wow. That's the line I hear whenever I see someone borrowing dresses.

It was 6 pm when I did my make up. I wasn't all that skilled at it, so I just applied it on very light.

As usual, the thick-headed swordsman barged in without a care in the world. He smiled as he looked at me with curiosity.

"Y'know what? You don't have to busy yourself with all that make up. You still look better when you don't have make up." he said.

People don't say that too often. I think this was the first time that I heard that.

When I was done, he was still smiling and escorted me outside.

"Oh yeah. For safety reasons, don't dance with anyone." he told me.

I laughed a little.

"Why?" I asked.

"To avoid getting into fights. I wouldn't know what would I do to some random guy that dances with you." he joked.

"And why are you so concerned?" I asked again.

"Nah. That wasn't really the real reason." he said.

I just smiled as he escorted me to our destination.

As we arrived, some of the rogues were actually waiting for me.

"Keep your eyes peeled for anyone suspicious." he whispered. "And don't leave my sight."

I inched close to him. He placed his hand on my waist.

"..what?!" I whispered to him angrily.

"Don't worry, I got this." he replied.

I just whisked away my feelings, thinking that this was just something harmless. But still, it was the first time that a guy ever laid his hands on me.

We entered the fabulous and overly decorated hall. Guests of all races were there.

Yamamoto-san and I camouflaged ourselves within this myriad of guests. He even talked to his acquaintance from the Spain base.

Then it was time to eat. He told me to pick whatever everyone was eating, but in small portions. He told me to be wary of the drinks too.

We ended up eating the least. While eating, Yamamoto-san wasn't at ease. His eyes kept darting left and right. His food was barely untouched.

The music was so enticing that it made the couples dance. Since he wasn't too keen on eating the food, he just told me to stand up and watch. I used my box weapon (the lens) to spy on those who look suspicious.

I couldn't see anything wary. Then all of the sudden, Yamamoto-san thought of the most stupid idea ever.

**P.S. Sorry about the super long chapters. This is my first fanfic so don't get all judgemental on me, okay..? And I'm half-Filipino half-Japanese, so excuse me if I have grammatical errors. (But if I may say so myself, my grammar's not all that bad.)**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: First Dance

"C'mon, Dokuro, let's dance."

"What..?! Why?"

"To view on them close up."

"Look, I couldn't see them using my lens."

"Exactly."

"The lens are far more effective."

"Nope, you might have overlooked something."

"That's impossible!"

"Look, just tell me if you don't wanna dance with me and I'd have no problem asking out any lady here."

I wanted to slap him in the face when he said that. I don't really know what part if the sentence affected me, but I just agreed to dance.

"I don't know how to dance." I confessed shyly.

"Don't worry, I've got this."

We left the silent corner as we held each other's hand. We stood face to face and posed to dance. I looked away from him and looked at the other couples dancing. Within seconds, we started to move.

"Why won't you look at me?" he asked.

I turned to him and saw his face. I felt my heart racing as he looks at me and smiles.

"P-please don't stand so close to me.." I whisper.

He just smiles but doesn't move. His face leans closer to mine and my cheeks burn with color.

"Look at the other guy. He looks like one of those rogues who we faced the other day."

I turn my head and see the person Yamamoto-san was talking about. He was right. Yamamoto-san maneuvers us to go closer to that guy.

"I can feel his hostility." I slowly whisper.

He doesn't respond. Instead, he tells me something.

"Ne, Dokuro."

I look at him again. He has this worried facial expression.

"I seriously don't know how to lure all of them here. Would you find a way to spy on them and lure them to us later?" he requests.

"I..I think I can do that." I told him.

"Really.." he whispers, "Good. Thanks."

After a minute, he tells me something.

"There's a whole bunch of 'em here. We need to get to their leader and drive 'em out of here."

I nod.

"Even if we have to kill every single one of them here."

I shuddered as I heard those words from him. I forgot that he was a hitman. A professional. But I wasn't in the right place to reprimand him. We were all part of the Mafia. Many people had already died in our hands. And we couldn't do anything about that.

"Everything ends tonight." he added.

"Hpoefully." I whisper.

The music changes. It was vaguely familiar. I know that I've heard it.

Of course..

The song performed by the street performers.

We both notice it.

"Yamamoto-san..you remember that don't you?"

"Yeah. And I remember you getting annoyed at my joke about fireworks."

I laugh a little.

I felt more comfortable but I still couldn't bring myself to look at him.

Silence as we listen to the music.

.

.

"You really look beautiful." he breaks the silence.

My face reddens.

"Don't talk like that."

"You really don't like the truth."

"I'm not used to it."

"No matter what you do, it's still the truth."

"You don't need to say it out loud."

I got tired from all his flattery that I look away again. I was so occupied with the song that I didn't hear Yamamoto-san say a particular word.

"What?"

"Nothing."

Yamamoto-san's face was a bit red.

The song ends. We let go of each other and return to the corner.

"I'm your first dance." he said.

I look at him skeptically, a little embarassed.

"And you were mine, too." he added.

Drinks were served shortly. Yamamoto-san declined. The waiter gave me a small glass of grape juice. Nothing intoxicating.

The party ended at 11 pm. We proceeded with our plan. I was supposed to use my owl to record their conversation and if they notice, they would probably follow it. Then, we would ambush them until they call back up and everyone. Then, we'd ask where their leader's hiding and kill the leader. I did everything that I was supposed to and waited.

.

.

"Dokuro, you alright?" Yamamoto-san asked me when he noticed that I was looking a little pale.

"..I'm alright."

"Are you tired?"

"No. I'm just.."

Suddenly, gunshots were heard. Yamamoto-san carried me as we looked for shelter. We escaped the crossfire unscathed but my condition was getting worse.

"Dokuro..!"

"Y-yamamoto-san, I'm not feeling okay..The enemies..I think they saw through our plan.."

"What..?"

"They're everywhere.."

"Will you be okay here?"

"Yes..but please be careful..There's a lot of them."

He nodded his head and left immediately.

"Take care.." I whispered.

Yamamoto stands alone within his 30 or more enemies. He feels no tension.

"You're the one the Tenth sent?" shouted one.

He draws his sword in a fluid motion and regains his composure.

"Go home, swordsman! There's one of you and 32 of us!"

His ring releases Rain Flames and engulfs his Shigure Kintoki with a blue halo.

"He wants to die?"

"Never mind, he doesn't know what he's facing."

"Enough talk, let's go!"

Three men charge at him.

Yamamoto slashes one, stabs the other, dodges and hacks on the other.

"29 left."

Soon, 7 of them charge with 4 as back up. He successfully eliminates all of them.

They shot bullets at him as he blocked other's attacks. No effect. He used the other men as a cover.

Within 10 minutes, he defeats all of them.

"Where's your leader?" he asks one.

That man doesnt respond.

Yamamoto points his sword onto that man's neck.

"Speak up or else."

The man stares at him haughtily.

"Or else what..?"

"Or else I'll go after your family, friends and relatives. You look like one of the rogues I've defeated some time ago. I bet he's your brother isn't he?" Yamamoto threats.

The man hesitates for a while. He bites his lip before he speaks.

"I don't really know. Our boss tends to pop up anywhere. But after every mission, he appears."

"Is your boss someone named Mukuro Rokudo?"

"I think so. He has long blue hair and mismatched eyes."

Yamamoto thinks of it. Draws back his sword and turns back.

"Y'know, your brother is still alive." he continues.

The man tries to stand up.

"Hey, before you try anything funny, I expect not to see any single one of you in my later missions. I've memorized all your faces so if I catch anyone of you ambushing me later, I won't hesitate to kill you." he adds, staring at them.

The man withdraws and sits back.

Yamamoto plans to wait for Mukuro but focuses his attention on his comrade.

"You alright?" he asks.

"They've put some tranquilizer on my drink." she answers drowzily.

"I told you so." Yamamoto reprimands as he carries her.

"Sorry."

.

.

.

The two return to the hotel. Yamamoto lets Chrome stay in his room again.

He resorted to his desk and wrote a letter to Tsuna.

.

.

Tenth,

We've got a little information about Mukuro but we haven't really got them. We managed to shoo some rogues outta the base. Maybe 35 or something like that. How many are they, anyway? By the way, I haven't told Dokuro about Mukuro.

Yamamoto Takeshi

Yamamoto fixes his gaze on Chrome as he sits on his bed. Wraps a blanket around her and continues gazing at her.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8: Vision

I heard someone calling me by my name.

"Chrome..Chrome.."

I tried to follow that hoarse voice until it lead me to a secret room of an abandoned building. I didn't really know where I was but it was all so familiar.

"Chrome.."

"I'm coming." I yelled. "Who is it?"

"Chrome..."

I ran when I saw where the voice was coming from.

It was coming from an old record player.

I was going to leave when I saw the old, beat up machine but I heard footsteps behind me.

"Chrome."

I turned around. It was him.

.

.

Mukuro Rokudo-sama.

Yes, that person who used me to get out of the Vindice for his own objective only. He was standing right in front of me, smiling.

A smile not like Yamamoto-san's.

A smile that could easily tell that Mukuro-sama was planning to use me again.

"Hello, we meet again." he greeted.

I stood back, trying to avoid him. But being polite and all, I nodded my head as a response.

"I'm sure that you know me well enough to know why I'm really here."

I paced back again, being careful. I couldn't face that person in battle.

"But what you think isn't true."

"What?" I asked.

"I don't need a vessel anymore."

"And..?

"I just want you to be careful."

"Why?"

"The Rain Guardian."

Rain Guardian? Was he referring to Yamamoto-san?

"W-what about him?"

He sighed. Paced slowly towards me.

"I know you better than you know me." he said.

Yes, it's true. But what was he talking about?

He drove me to a corner. I felt uncomfortable with his presence.

"Drive away those feelings that you have. It will only break you." he warned.

"What feelings?" I asked.

"These." he replied as he showed me all my memories in an illusion like a slide show.

I saw the time when we fought side by side, when he kept pestering me to talk, when he took pictures, when we ate while walking, our little fight, the street performers, the late night trip and that moment we shared in the boat. He even showed me what my face looked like when we shared our first dance.

But after that, whisked away the illusion. My facial expression dramatically changed.

"See." he told me, "You do have all those feelings for him."

I was sort of offended. So what if I did? He would never care. He shouldn't.

"What if he left?" he asked.

"Don't say that. Yamamoto-san isn't like you one bit." I replied.

"Really?" he mused for a while. "Tell me, after this trip, would he still be your friend?"

I thought of it for a while. I was unsure.

"I..I don't know."

He smiled victoriously.

"..But..but that doesn't make me lose faith in him." I added.

"Maybe yes, maybe no." he said. "When all of this is over, you two will continue with your mundane life, carrying out missions for the Tenth. Being one of the top-ranked swordsmen, Yamamoto Takeshi will carry out harder missions without you. Even if you two do continue to have a relationship, he'd be more distracted in his missions and might die."

My eyes grew wide when he told me about that.

"No, he wouldn't..!"

"Or he could be distributed to a very far place for a long town and find someone new."

"No, stop it..!"

"Have you never thought of that?"

"He isn't like that!"

"He's like your father."

"..No!"

"And another thing." he added.

"…"

"By falling in love with a person like him, you would be violating a special condition that was meant for you."

"No.."

I could only scream as I remember that condition.

Everything turned dark. Mukuro disappeared into thin air and gave his final words.

"Don't ever think that you could find happiness in this world of ours."

It took a lot of time to wake up from that nightmare. I felt someone was waking me up. I was sweating all over, shivering with fright.

Yamamoto-san was the one who woke me up.

"You alright?" he asked.

It took a while to think of an answer.

I nodded my head, indicating a 'yes'.

He looked at me with a worried face.

"Had a bad dream?" he asked.

I shook my head. I didn't want him to know about that horrible dream.

He lightly wrapped his arms around me. My face turned bright scarlet but somehow, it eased my feelings a little.

"Don't worry, I'm here." he whispered while rubbing my back. Like what parents do to their children.

I started to embrace him too. It took a while to recover from the shock.

When he let go, he smiled at me.

"Feel better..?"

I nodded a little.

"Good. I guess it's time that you change your clothes." he said while patting my head.

I stood up and left. When I saw my face in the mirror, I saw that I had no make up. He must have wiped it off.

I changed clothes and washed my face, I took one last look at the mirror.

I saw Mukuro-sama smiling wickedly behind me.

I turned around in shock to see if he was actually there.

Nothing. No one was there.

I took in a deep breath and remembered Yamamoto-san's embrace. It slightly felt better.

I wanted to continue my sleep when I saw a note sticking out of my desk.

.

.

I'm the leader of those rogues you were assigned to eliminate.

Yamamoto Takeshi hasn't told you that but you'd figure out soon.

-Mukuro Rokudo

I teared up the paper. I wanted to end this myself.

The day passed uneventfully. As I turned to sleep, I felt something eerie. I got scared.

I waited for some time to get drowzy. But as I closed my eyes, all the things that I feared popped up in my head.

I couldn't sleep.

I thought of what Mukuro-sama told me. Did I really have feelings for him?

So what if I had? There was nothing wrong. I slept thinking about that.

.

.

"Keep your distance." a voice cut in.

"You two aren't for each other."

"Stay away from him or he'll die."

I woke up when I heard that last sentence.

"..stay away from him or he'll die..?" I muttered.

I tried to sleep but those words repeated in my mind. Tears fell from my eyes. I just cried myself to sleep.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9: Keeping Distance

Morning came.

I was supposed to grab breakfast in the lobby when I passed by Yamamoto-san's room.

I looked back and didn't mind as I remembered that voice.

"Stay away from him or he'll die."

I ate my breakfast without any appetite. I wasn't all that hungry too.

"What's wrong with you?"

I turned around and saw Yamamoto-san. He sat next to me, with a plate filled with food.

I didn't look at him.

"Are you sick?"

I shook my head. I guess I was returning to my old self.

He just stared at me.

I really wanted to talk to him. But something else was reprimanding me. I don't know if I should believe that voice.

I was scared.

"What, you're leaving already?" he asked.

I didn't respond. I left without looking back.

The rest of the day, I avoided him.

I didn't eat lunch and dinner just to stop seeing him.

And I reminded myself that he was in love with someone else.

Nothing has changed. I still couldn't sleep.

In the middle of the night, someone knocked at the door.

I answered it. Naturally, I knew who it was.

"Is there anything that I can help you with..?" I asked formally.

"Yeah." he answered.

I was expecting something else but I sort of felt disappointed by his answer.

"Give me back the dress. I'll return in to the owner."

I returned to the melancholy shades of my room and rummaged for the dress. Memories of my first dance surfaced. I gave it to him and he left instantly. He said nothing else.

I returned to sleep.

The next day, I didn't eat breakfast nor lunch. My body was weakening.

"Am I..really doing the right thing..?" I asked softly.

In the midst of my daydreaming, a letter made its way to my room.

Though weak, I tried hard to read it.

"Let's eat out tonight. Meet me later at 6 pm at the hotel lobby."

The handwriting was undoubtedly Yamamoto-san's. I wanted to come but things in my head were fighting my will.

For one time, I'll just do this. Just this time. I wanted it to be the last time I'd ever talk to him.

6 pm came. Yamamoto-san was waiting for me. Wearing his usual Mafia uniform. That's good. I was too.

I saw that Yamamoto-san had reserved something for the two of us.

**Heeeey, it's me again. How are you guys liking the story so far?**

**Sorry for the super long chapters or boring storyline. I'll improve it at the**

**next chapter.**


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10: Partial Confession

The restaurant was pretty extravagant. I didn't know what happened to Yamamoto-san for him to suddenly do something like this.

"How do you like it?" he asked, while escorting me to our table.

"Its ok, but how much did this cost..?"

"Nah, you wouldn't wanna know."

Judging from his words, it must've cost him a lot.

"Why'd you wanna bring me here?" I asked.

"Nothing." he replied.

I was getting intrigued. Now what's he planning..?

Dinner was served. From the way I was eating, Yamamoto-san must've noticed that I was very hungry.

"You haven't eaten breakfast haven't you..?" he asked.

"Yes." I replied. I just didn't mention that I haven't eaten lunch and dinner yesterday, too.

He gave me a somewhat worried look.

"Hey, you. If I hear from anyone that you've been skipping meals, I swear that I'll inject nutrients in your body directly." he threatened.

Yamamoto-san seemed serious. I guess he doesn't like it when I skip meals. I stared at him skeptically. He could only pat me in the head.

When we finished, I stood up to leave the restaurant until Yamamoto-san grabbed my hand.

"Wait." he said. "I gotta talk to you."

He got up and walked beside me. I picked up my pace and I was soon walking briskly in front of him. We stopped at the balcony, where the full moon was visible, along with the picturesque city view of Paris.

He stood alongside me while I was enjoying the cold night breeze. I turned to him to start the conversation.

"What did you wanna talk about?" I asked.

He didn't respond yet.

.

.

"You've been acting up lately. What's wrong?" he asked.

"Nothing's wrong." I replied. I can't tell him.

"You've been avoiding me and you were skipping meals. And you don't talk all that much."

"I never liked talking."

"But you talk a lot when you like the topic."

"No..I.."

"And why do you keep on locking yourself in your room?"

"Get used to it."

"I thought you've gotten over that behavior."

"Well what if I haven't?"

"Tell me what's wrong."

"Nothing's wrong."

"Did I do something wrong?"

"No."

"Then why were you avoiding me?"

I was slowly getting sick of the conversation. I can't tell him that there was a voice in my head telling me to keep my distance.

"Because someone told me to." I replied.

"Who?"

"None of your business."

"It's my business. I get affected, too."

"Affected..?"

"Yeah, affected. I'm not used to it when I don't see you. I don't like it when I see you hungry and in pain."

"I don't get it."

Yamamoto-san's face was getting flushed.

"I..I.." he stammers. "I told you that we were friends right..?! Naturally, they worry about each other..!"

"I know that but.."

"Yeah, I always worry about you because what I feel for you is more that friendship..!"

"What..?"

After saying that sentence, he looked like he was having an asthma attack.

_**"You're like a little sister to me!"**_ he yells.

Okay, though it wasn't what I was expecting, it was still better.

"Um..okay."

Neither of us could get the right words to say. After some time, we decided to go back to the hotel. We didn't say anything to each other. Not even 'goodnight'.

.

.

.

I lay in bed, still thinking about him. I only kept my distance from him for 2 days, but..

His actions really confused me.

To stop being confused, I tried to be true with myself.

_**I like him.**_

Nothing's really bad about that.

I like him. I like his smile, I like his short, black hair, I like his lean build, I like the way he talks, I like the way he fights with his sword, I like his thick-headedness, I like the way he tries to make me laugh.

But most of all, I like the time he spent with me.

I don't think 'like' could be able to cover what I really mean.

Maybe I love him.

.

.

.

"Stay away from him of he'll die!"

I only followed those words because I loved him.

Earlier, I wanted him to tell me that he loves me.

What if those words were his true intentions?

"Failed." Yamamoto tells himself.

"Damn it. I knew that this could never work out. 'Little sister' is pretty far from 'Lover'."

It would be his first time to confess. Naturally, he wasn't the kind of person to say things like that.

He looks at the pile of love letters he made.

Reads every single one of them.

"I really sound hopeless." he mutters.

He uncovers a note under the envelopes.

His eyes dart swiftly from left to right as he reads it. His eyebrows shot up as he reads the final line of the said note.

Yamamoto grabs his coat as he escapes his room and sprints outside.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11: Letters

I toss and turn in bed. I feel uneasy.

I miss Yamamoto-san.

After thinking for some time about him, I decide to go to his room, maybe have a little chat. Anything just to spend some time with him.

I lock my room as I make my way to his. I see the door wide open.

I peek inside and see nothing. Just a pile of opened letters. I pick up one letter and read it. My fingers shake in disbelief as I read them.

Chrome Dokuro,

I wanna tell you that your smile is (like) the light of my world. All the effort it takes to make you happy is so worth it

From your secret admirer.

The handwriting is undoubtedly Yamamoto-san's. She reaches for another open envelope.

Chrome Dokuro,

You really keep me awake at night. I'm starting to have dark circles in my eyes and it's all your fault. I get all sorts of injuries and embarrasments and it's also your fault. And I almost get heart attacks and it's still your fault, but never mind. These are definately the best souveneirs I could get.

From your secret admirer.

I laugh a little. This was probably referring to our late night trip. I read another.

Chrome Dokuro,

I felt really flattered when you told me that you missed me. Don't worry, I miss you too. I miss you every second of everyday of my life.

From your secret admirer.

I blush as I remember when I said that I missed him. Yamamoto-san is really, really thick headed.

Chrome Dokuro,

You're the most beautiful girl I've ever seen, ever since middle school. But seeing you in a black dress emphasized your beauty.

From your secret admirer.

Chrome Dokuro,

The first dance we shared was one of the happiest moments in my life. Thanks a lot. I really wanted to spend the whole night dancing with you, but I guess everyone needs a little rest, too. I don't know how long will it be before you realize how much I'd like to be with you. I wonder, do you still wanna dance with me? Did you miss me? Looking at you, I guess maybe not. The world might not care if I disappear but I hope that you'll miss me if ever I die.

From your secret admirer.

Chrome Dokuro,

It sort of hurts me deep inside to see you drift away from me. I haven't seen you in two days. Have you been eating well? You should get a little exercise to get healthy. But even if you aren't physically well, I swear that I'll take care of you for the rest of my life.

From your secret admirer.

I laugh as I read all his letters. It made me miss him even more. I return everything in its place as I leave. I was almost out of the door when I stepped on a piece of paper.

I picked it up. It was something.

Yamamoto Takeshi,

Meet me tonight at 7 pm in the nearest alley near your hotel. You know where that is.

If you don't, you know what'll happen to your most precious girl.

-Mukuro Rokudo

.

.

.

My hands tremble as I read this note. It even came with a lock of blue hair, proof that he was really Mukuro.

I look at the time. It was 7:38.

I rush to that said place. Who knows what happened.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12: Incident

"Good to see you, Vongola." Mukuro greeted slyly.

Yamamoto comes closer, wearing a serious look on his face.

"What do you want, Mukuro?"

Mukuro flashes his wicked smile as he picks up his trident.

"I'm sure you know that I have some issues with the Vongola." he explains.

"And."

"I have issues with you, too."

"What..?"

He charged at Yamamoto with his trident pointed at him. Yamamoto successfully blocks.

"If you're so smart, Rain Guardian.." Mukuro snickers with their weapons crossed, "..why would Tsunayoshi send you to deal with me instead of coming here himself..?"

Yamamoto pays no attention to his opponent and releases Rain Flames from his sword. Mukuro jumps back to avoid getting affected by the Rain's tranquility factor.

"Look, I still don't care. Either way, someone would have dealt with Vongola's problems." replies Yamamoto.

Mukuro flashes an illusion at his opponent. Snakes of all sorts slither towards him.

Yamamoto lights up his ring and releases Kojiro. The snakes get nearer and nearer.

He swings his sword and charges. Mukuro holds up his hand and snakes started raining.

"Shigure Souen Ryu, Tenth Stance.." he commands while concentrating.

In a flash, he sprints with lightning speed.

"Scontro di Rondine..!"

He repels the snakes with his veil of Rain Flames.

Mukuro tries to block but gets overpowered.

He gets pushed backward but regains his balance.

Yamamoto runs towards Mukuro to slash him and succeeds.

Mukuro gets a shallow wound.

"Withdraw your men. They're a real bother." Yamamoto orders.

Mukuro doesn't respond. But a smile can be seen on his face.

The swordsman gets confused because of his opponent's actions when he suddenly felt weird. He can see his vision closing in on him. In a matter of time, he feels like being thrown in a dark abyss.

"The time when you managed to hit me," Mukuro said, "was a perfect time for me to implant an illusion deep in your mind. The strongest type of illusion."

Yamamoto was unconscious, kneeling down and in a controlled sleep.

Yamamoto looks at his dark surroundings. Everything was empty.

"Anyone here..?" he yells as he explores the wasteland. Nothing existed in this dark empty space except for him.

He heard a loud sound. Thunder.

He sat down in his virtually empty space. Concentrated as he tries to hear all the sounds he can hear.

Nothing. Everything was silent.

.

.

.

"Yamamoto-san!"

Mukuro cringes as he hears the sound of his opponent's partner.

"Yamamoto-san!" she yells to get Yamamoto's attention.

He sees the swordsman stir a little from his trance. The illusion was losing effect.

Chrome slips into the dark corner and sees the two.

"Yamamoto-san.." she whispers as she approaches him.

"Dokuro.." Yamamoto mutters in his state of sleep.

"What are you doing to Yamamoto-san..?!" she yells.

Mukuro releases Yamamoto from the illusion.

"The Rain Guardian is the kind of person who is able to fight this kind of illusion." he said. "It'd be a waste of energy using it against him."

"Dokuro..what are you doing here..?!" scolds Yamamoto as he regains his consciousness.

"I'm sorry, I.."

"Now that you're here, Chrome, things would now be easier for me." he said.

The girl was particularly confused but Yamamoto stood up and drew his sword.

"Don't involve her in this."

"I thought you said that someone needs to deal with Vongola's problems? Why not let that person be Chrome?" Mukuro snickered.

"I was chosen by the Tenth to end this!" yells Yamamoto.

"Yes, that's right." Mukuro said, disappearing.

"But Chrome was also given this mission." he added as he reappeared behind Chrome. Mukuro pointed his trident near Chrome's neck.

"Mukuro..!"

"I'll give you two options, Rain Guardian." said Mukuro, "First, you could lend me Chrome to provide me enough cover so I could get near Tsunayoshi and be able to become boss. I really need a good illusionist."

Yamamoto grips his sword tighter in rage.

"The next option is.." he continued.

.

.

"To kill you."

"..N-no..!" yelled Chrome. "Yamamoto-san!"

Mukuro slashed Chrome's cheek a little.

"Damnit, Mukuro..!" cursed Yamamoto.

Mukuro smiles wickedly.

"I'll ambush the base while everyone's grieving for the most influential person in the Vongola. And by meaning the most influential.."

"Stop it, Mukuro..! I'll be willing to work with you just don't hurt Yamamoto-san..!"

"Okay, Rain Guardian, have you heard what your partner's saying?" he teases.

Yamamoto keeps silent.

"Please trust me Yamamoto-san..!" pleads Chrome.

No response.

"Well, Rain Guardian?"

Yamamoto nods his head.

"You can take her."

Mukuro's smile widens victoriously. He grips Chrome's arm and leads her away.

Chrome, though a little disappointed and terrified, takes one last look at him.

"At least he'll be safe." she thought to herself.

.

.

The only thing I remembered about that incident..

We were halfway out of the alley when Yamamoto-san charged at Mukuro-sama.

After that, blood was everywhere.

Blood splattered and flew through the air like raindrops.

Yamamoto-san's blood.

He was stabbed by Mukuro-sama's trident.

The only damage he caused to Mukuro-sama was managing to rip his sleeve and loosening his grip on me.

I ran to him and cast a solid illusion to protect him.

"You think an illusion like that will be enough..?!" Mukuro-sama yelled as he thrust his trident into my wall.

The wall broke but Yamamoto-san evaded his attack.

He swung his sword again and dealt a slash across Mukuro-sama's chest. But he was still able to hit Yamamoto-san with the trident's long wooden handle.

"It all ends here, Rain Guardian."

He thrust the sharp trident in Yamamoto-san's shoulder. It didn't end yet. I heard the wooden handle hit his body. I couldn't bear look.

"What are you doing Chrome..Don't you want to look..?" Mukuro yells.

I cover my ears. I didn't want to see or hear anything.

"Don't you get it, Chrome..? Everything is your fault..You're responsible for his death!"

Tears escape my eyes. It was true but..

Mukuro-sama was about to deal a final death blow when a miracle happened.

"Voooooooooi! What in the world are you doing, Mukuro?!"

I saw the long-haired swordsman swinging his sword in our direction.

"Tch. Varia?" hissed Mukuro.

"It's Squalo.." whispered Yamamoto-san in relief.

"Not only Squalo. Whatever you're doing, Mukuro, you better stop that. The Tenth will be extremely enraged." someone cut in.

I almost cried in gratitude. The Tenth sent Squalo and Sasagawa Ryohei.

Mukuro-sama backed down.

"I've got no intention to fight you two. It would be too much of a bother."

Squalo charged first. He almost hit Mukuro when he disappeared into thin air.

"Tch, that coward." hissed Squalo.

"I think what happened was better." Sasagawa said. "Let's take this guy to the hospital. Looks pretty beat up."

Yamamoto-san laughed a little.

"You idiot, Yamamoto!" yelled Squalo, "If you weren't that beat up, I'd kill you myself!"

"Stand up, Chrome. You should come with us." called Sasagawa.

I stood up and immediately rushed to Yamamoto-san. He was really beat up and was bleeding profusely.

"Yamamoto-san, what.."

He held up his bloodied hand to me. Yamamoto-san's hands were shaking due to shock.

"Mukuro didn't do anything to you, didn't he..?"

I shook my head. Tears were welling up my eyes.

He wiped my tears, leaving a trace of blood."

"Ne, don't cry. Takeshi-nii will always be here."

Those were the last words he said before losing consciousness.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13: Final Words

He hasn't woke up for almost 5 days. The doctors said that he had lost a lot of blood and would take a long time to recover. I don't mind. I'm willing to take care of him no matter how long.

Here he is. All bandaged up, unconscious. But still breathing. That was good enough for me.

The truth is, I wouldn't know what to do if he wakes up. It was practically my fault that he ended up here.

.

.

.

"He's still sleeping.."

I gaze at him and remember my memories with him.

.

.

"I'm on a mission to Paris. Guess who's coming with me."

"Don't you ever talk?"

"We'll still be friends, right?"

"Your smile can light up the world more than any firework could."

"Don't worry, I've got this."

"You're like a little sister to me..!"

"Ne, don't cry. Takeshi-nii will always be here."

…

Takeshi-nii.. No. I didn't want him to be my brother. I wanted more than that. But I had to keep my distance.

His hands grip mine softy.

"..Yamamoto-san..."

He was stirring. He's waking up..

"Where..?" he mumbles.

"Yamamoto-san..!" I cry out, eyes filing with tears.

He watches me in surprise as I expel all my feelings through the fluid in my eyes.

"Dokuro.."

"Are you..alright now..?" I ask, while sniffling my stuffy nose.

"Yeah, I think so." he said.

I smile weakly but can't help crying.

"Ne, Dokuro, stop that." he scolds.

I stop a little and grip the blanket as he proceeds to rest.

I start to stride out the room when he stopped me.

"If you're planning to tell everyone that I'm awake, you better set that aside."

"..But.."

"You can tell them that later after I've finished talking to you."

Talk to me? He sure sounds serious. I sat back down to my original place as I prepare for whatever scolding he wants to give me.

.

.

.

"What I said about the younger sister part.." he starts.

"I know. I've read all the letters you've left."

"What?!"

He looked at me with sheer fright written all over in his face. He was sweating a lot and his face turned into a bright shade of red.

"You've read..."

"Yes. Do you want me to repeat everything you've written?"

"Seriously not!" he yelled as he covered himself with his blanket. Now, I'm seeing the best swordsman of the Vongola act like a 3 year old midget.

"..Are you serious?" he suddenly asked as he peeked outside the cloth.

"Yes."

He uncovered himself and tried to sit up.

"..."

"Did you understand them?"

I nodded my head.

.

.

"Yamamoto-san..about the letter.."

His eyebrows raised up.

"If you die, I won't miss you."

"What..?!" he yelled, offended.

"Because I'd be dead too."

"Huh?"

"If you die, I'd follow you."

"That doesn't make sense."

I sighed. He was acting thick headed.

"If you die, I'll follow you because.."

"Nah." he said, interrupting me.

"Huh?"

"I won't die, baka."

"..what, did you just call me 'baka'..?!"

"I won't die, or even leave your side. Because I know that some baka would really miss me so much."

"No I won't!" I shouted, blushing.

"Save the side comments for yourself." he smiled, patting my head.

That really calmed me down. I lost my will to argue when I saw his warm smile again.

Unconsciously, I began to smile, too.

...

"Dokuro..I.."

"Yes?"

"..I love you."

My hands froze as Yamamoto-san said those words. I wasn't all that surprised since I've read his letters but still, hearing those words from him personally was overwhelming.

"I wanted to tell you that while I'm still alive." he continued. "Do you feel the same..?"

"Yes..but.."

"But?"

"I don't know if the Tenth would allow an affair between two Guardians."

"Nah, Tsuna won't mind."

I love him too, but I couldn't tell him the real reason why I wasn't allowed to. I still had to keep my distance.

"..And, Yamamoto-san.." I said, "There are some reasons why I have to keep my distance."

"What?"

"I'm sorry, I can't.."

I stood up to leave. He didn't say anything to stop me. Darn it. Why..?

I turned back.

"..Yamamoto-san.." I said, tears filling my eyes, "..I love you too, very, very much but..There's really one condition that prevents me from being with you..."

"..And.."

"If you're really serious, you'd have to wait for me. But I'm more than willing to give you anything you ask me. I'll give you everything I am.."

"I understand." he said.

"But please wait for me. I don't really know how long you'll wait. For now, I'll have to keep my distance."

He nods his head.

As I turn to leave the room, he tells me something.

Something that made me feel at ease.

"I'll keep my distance and wait for you no matter how long."

**Ok. This is the last chapter, hope you enjoyed it. I just wanna say thank you to the readers for wasting their time reading this. There's gonna be a sequel that explains what Chrome's 'special condition' really is.**


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